Last time I wrote about how we all benefit from socialism. Now, in the wake of the devastating and tragic tornado outbreak, I must write again on the subject of how we need some form of government to look after us.
Rand Paul, the junior Senator representing Kentucky and professed Libertarian, claims to be an enemy of “big government.” Yet when his state needs Federal assistance, he begs like a dog for help. Paul went awfully quickly from condemning the “evils” of socialism to whimpering for federal assistance from the very Big Government he despises.
Paul voted against providing Federal aid to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy. He voted against aid for Texas after Hurricane Harvey. He voted against aid for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. But when his home state takes it on the chin, he sings a different tune.
Already right-wing bugnuts, such as former Senate candidate and Qanon supporter Lauren Witzke, are blaming the tornado outbreak on the things that right-wingers hate, such as abortion and gay marriage. Never mind that Kentucky, the state that was hit hardest, has two very right-wing Senators – the aforementioned Paul, and the hated Mitch McConnell. Funny, I haven’t heard anybody blame McConnell’s re-election in 2020 for the twisters. Maybe it’s because people on the Left are less prone to regard disasters as visitations of divine wrath for real or imagined sins.
President Biden has vowed long-term aid for Kentucky to recover from the devastating storms. At least he’s doing a lot more than toss packs of paper towels at the tornado survivors. A government run by Libertarians would say, “Suck it up, buttercup – ask the Red Cross for help.” Anybody who thinks that private charity can entirely replace government assistance is a fool.
Many years ago I saw a two-panel editorial cartoon that demonstrates why we need a strong central government. In the first panel a man in a horse-drawn wagon is giving a spiel against big government talking about how it has too much power, blah, blah, blah. In the second panel, a young man has driven up in a large truck with some huge sacks labeled various things that a centralized government provides. I forget exactly what the labels on the bags are – it’s been years since I saw the cartoon, and I can’t find it on the Internet. He is saying to the man in the wagon “Like to take on some of the load?” The first man and the horse are both wigging out.
We don’t know the value of water till the well runs dry. We don’t know the value of “big government” till we need it.
